Senior Lecturer sees work published in Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal

Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Newman University, Birmingham, Dr Pete Harris has seen his most recent article published in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal.

Pete has been looking at the role of male youth workers who are seeking to engage with young men involved in violence. In this article he explores the relationship between an older male youth worker and a young man and tries to reveal how the relationship works (or not) to bring about the young man’s desistance (cessation) from violence.

The study focuses on how both men struggle to “give up the ball” – a metaphor Pete adopts for the act of conceding masculine capital or ‘man points’. Pete suggests that for the relationship to provide the support this young man needed it required the creation of a third space between him and his youth worker; that is, a vantage point from where they could both examine their masculinity and how this was related to their respective vulnerabilities.

The case highlights the need for provision of adequate supervision for all male workers that incorporates consideration of their personal and professional identity formation, especially the most heavily gendered aspects.

To access the article visit the SAGE journals website.